Page 76 of Velvet Cruelty

Adriano flicks his cigarette, creating a shower of sparks. “Could have been the alcohol.”

“One cocktail she barely drank?” Doc shakes his head. “Orchard isn’t shelf stable. Longest I kept a dose was six months and when I gave it to Mel—no, Meg—she said she felt sick after. She didn’t puke, but it was the first time anyone’s said that. If Parker’s been making his own gear, then the puking’s a new feature. If he’s kept what he stole, it oxidized. My money’s on that.”

“I’m surprised he didn’t kill her,” Eli says darkly.

Doc lights a second cigarette off the tip of his first. “If she’d drunk the whole cocktail, he probably would have.”

We stand there for a long time, our breath and cigarette smoke mixing with the wet air. I imagine the girl tucked into the bed not two rooms away, dead at a charity gala. I want to go to her and give her anything, everything, to make her feel better.

“Risky,” Adriano says. “Doping her in front of her family.”

“Fucking pig,” Doc mutters. I remember watching him pace the hospital after Alessia was attacked and my gut knots.

“Did he want her gone?” Eli asks. “Was he trying to kill her?”

Doc snorts. “No fucking way.”

“Then what…?”

“The motherless cunt got sick of waiting. He had a room all picked out to take her to, didn’t he? If her mom hadn’t come after her…”

A horrible thought comes to me. “Did January say how old she was when it happened?”

“Fifteen,” Eli replies.

I’m expecting anger, and it’s there, but mostly I feel miserable. January’s sweeter than anyone I’ve ever met. How has this been her life?

“Why would he throw everything away like that?” Eli asks. “Paying January’s mother for years, not even letting himself hold her hand. Why would he give that all up just to dose her at a gala where there’s every chance he’d get caught?”

“Because he snapped.” Adriano grinds his cigarette end under his boot. “You know what he’s like.”

We do. Better than anyone. But I learned a long time ago that revisiting those memories is asking nightmares to take up permanent residency in my head.

“Porca miseria,” Eli mutters. “What a fucking mess.”

Doc blows smoke toward the sky. “You got that right.”

“We can’t send January away. Not until we know whether Parker’s making Orchard,” Eli says.

I try not to let my expression change. “Do you want her back in the cage?”

“No. She can stay in the east wing. Actually, she can walk the house for all I care. It’s not like she’s a danger to anyone.”

Adriano turns away.

“Fine by me,” Doc says. “I need to ask her about the O. Maybe run some tests—”

“You won’t be doing that,” Eli interrupts. “Parker still needs dealing with. We have a job to do and limited time.”

Doc looks mutinous but he doesn’t say anything.

“That goes for all of you,” Eli adds. “Stay away from the girl. We have bigger fish to fry.”

He holds my gaze until I nod. “Okay.”

“Good.” He rounds on Adriano. “I’m warning you, Rossi. She dies and you are in the shit.”

Adriano inclines his head.

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